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CBS, who shied away from airing the “controversial” United Church of Christ commercial, recently offered commentary on Christianity and secular music on 60 minutes. Correspondent Bob Simon interviewed such bands as Third Day, POD and Kanye West and asked them about their “Christian” music in a secular context. Simon described this phenomenon as a “seismic shift in American culture.” This seems a bit much, but the $4 billion industry is certainly a force to be reckoned with.

Third Day, who gained mainstream notoriety lately by performing at the Republican National Convention and by their new sponsorship deal with Chevrolet, is making the transition to mainstream by signing with a secular label. Powell, the band’s lead singer notes that they are on a mission to “be dangerous for our whole culture,” a culture he described as post-Christian. With tongue-in-cheek, Simon described the band’s crossover as “coming out of the closet.” This is not far from the truth, for Third Day may be presenting a new model for evangelicalism—forcing them to stand up for their faith before a hostile culture.

The hard-rock hit, POD, presented a similar model for evangelicalism. POD, which stands for “Payable on Death” has appeared regularly at Ozfest (a heavy metal rock festival hosted by Ozzie Ozborne) and last toured with Korn. Their variegated body art and dread locks have led to their success, which is split between evangelical and secular teens. In response to the negative criticism from some evangelicals, POD’s drummer noted, “We were never Christian enough anyway.” How sad. Perhaps such “Christians” should receive a word from the Shiverian Gospel.

Kanye West, the recent rap phenom who is currently nominated for 10 Grammy awards, was also interviewed by Simon. When asked about his musical style, West attributed his success to his “dope ass beat.” West fought against the counsel of his colleagues in the rap industry and told Simon, “the word Jesus was like saying the word nigger.” West blends profanity and theology into his tracks (often in the same rhyme). This has reaped a flood of criticism from evangelicals. To such quips, West notes, “My songs are not for evangelicals, they are for who God is really trying to reach.”

With other bands like Switchfoot and Evanescence crossing over to the secular music world from their Christian roots, we might ask about the virtue of crossing over. Should evangelicals get behind these new forms of evangelism? Perhaps pastors who sense a similar calling to reach the hoi poloi should incorporate profanity into sermons (I’m still waiting for PTS to offer that preaching course).

In my opinion, most Christian musicians suck! I am impressed with bands like POD and Switchfoot that do not sacrifice musical prowess in the service of the Gospel. I thought the recent South Park commentary on the Christian music industry, though hyperbolic, was fitting. It seems that evangelicals ought to expand their vision of what ministry is in a post-Christian world. Or maybe, such performers have overstepped their bounds. Any thoughts?

Evangelism with a "Dope Ass Beat?"

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